Urban Exile: “Curbing” the Panhandling “Epidemic” Gets Sexy

A2PNotes: In 2010, John Hieftje and First Ward Council member Sandi Smith both ran for re-election and patted themselves on the back for “doubling beds at the homeless shelter.” If you count a chair as a bed, Hieftje and Smith were telling the truth. In November of 2009, Ann Arbor City Council made an “emergency allocation” of $159,000 to “deal” with homelessness. I wrote about it here. A one-time allocation. Then, City Council suggested Ann Arbor residents “pray to end homelessness.” Suffice it to say, in a city heralded as one of the most politically progressive in the country, our elected officials resemble Ebenezer Scrooges—pre-Ghost of Christmas Future visit. “Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?” Winter 2011? No emergency allocation. Not a peep from John Hieftje, Sandi Smith or any of the other Council members, warm and cozy in their Council chambers, obsessing how to pay for skinning the Larcom Building so it will match the new City Hall, and looking forward to their new Council chambers when renovations are finished.

Homelessness advocates have told stories of city and county officials threatening to pull funding from services for the homeless to retaliate against advocates who are overly vocal on behalf of the needs of the growing homeless population. The panhandling problem in Ann Arbor merited the formation of a special task force, headed by First Ward Council member Sabra Briere. In the many months her special committee has been meeting (if it has) Briere has not shared updates with residents. She is scheduled to update Council in March 2011.

In Fall 2010, The Ann magazine published a feature story on homelessness in Ann Arbor. It includes this:

And yet there was the headline in The Detroit News last month: “Ann Arbor struggles with homeless influx.” The story listed panhandling com- plaints from Ann Arbor police and cited praise for local food, medical and shelter services from a few homeless men who lived in tents or shelters in the city.

The story suggested that Ann Arbor’s excellent network of services draws a steady  stream of people from outside Washtenaw County, thus causing budget problems for the city and county. Three weeks later, workers on the front lines of the homeless effort were still huffing about the piece.

Here’s what The Detroit News published that had the Director of the local shelter association huffing and puffing:

For several years, homeless from around the state have descended upon the city because of a largesse that ranges from social services to the generosity of U-M students toward panhandlers, said city police, social service agencies and transients.

The number of homeless in Washtenaw County jumped from 4,212 in 2008 to 4,618 last year, according to the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County. A quarter of them are from outside the county, said the association.

The influx contributed to a panhandling problem that grew so severe this summer that the police chief labeled it the “No. 1 crime,” and the City Council assembled a task force to study it.

“We have people from all over,” said Police Chief Barnett Jones. “We’re on the cusp of being a victim of our generosity.”

To discourage outsiders from coming to Ann Arbor, the city’s 75-bed homeless shelter instituted a residency requirement earlier this year.

David Jesse and Tina Reed wrote a brilliant series about homelessness in Ann Arbor in 2009. Rose Martin, who has been working with low-income people in Ann Arbor for 30 years and is the founder of the Peace Neighborhood Center, was blunt when speaking to the reporters:

“The availability doesn’t match the need. They just don’t want it here,” she said. “They don’t want to have this deluge of low-income people here in Ann Arbor. They pay lip service while you’ve got a family with three kids sleeping in their car behind the trailer park (on Jackson). It brings reality too close. The numbers of people who need help are growing astronomically….If you don’t think it’s a problem here in Ann Arbor, you’re a damn fool.”

Urban Exile is a regular column that looks at various aspects of homelessness and poverty in our community. Written by attorney and activist Erika McNamara, the Urban Exile will, I hope, prove that A2Politico is no damn fool (at least so far as this subject is concerned) and neither are you.

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Stereotypically, the term “panhandler” evokes images of aggressive individuals asking for change. This may be true, as in many cases it takes a very strong personality to stand on a corner all day and ask for change. But isn’t it also true that the stereotypical description of a homeless individual is someone more passive—an individual who wants desperately not be seen by the general public? The truth is that both of these populations not only have public image problems with the community but also have problems with the law, businesses, and government.

Pulling up to the light at the Geddes Road exit off of U.S. 23, one often sees a person standing on the side of the ramp—perhaps with a sign asking for motorists to spare some change. At the same time you bring your car to a stop (as luck would have it you never make that light) your mind swims with so many questions. Who is this person? How did she get here? Why is she here asking for money? Is this person on drugs? Does this person have a family? Is this a homeless individual?

Are panhandlers and homeless individuals the same?

The un-politically correct answer to these questions is that this individual is a beggar. If you prefer to be politically correct, then the term panhandler will work. However, it is unclear how a change in the semantics changes the fact that these individuals are begging for money.  Now, let’s go a bit further down the path and agree that that is important for people to understand that panhandlers are not all homeless, and homeless individuals are not panhandlers.

Check out this post on AnnArbor.com by a state trooper. He writes about the legality of begging on highway entrance ramps:

Webster’s Third International Dictionary states “begging” is to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It often occurs for the purpose of securing a material benefit, generally a gift, donation or charitable donation. When done in the context of a public place, it is known as “panhandling.”

Under Michigan Law, “begging” is illegal and falls under the “disorderly person” law (MCL 750.167) when a person is found begging in a public place. This includes freeway ramps.

This article is not meant to stereotype the homeless population. It is for information, based on my law enforcement experiences.

Over the course of the past several decades, advocates for the poor, in an effort to make individuals who beg seem kinder and gentler, began using “panhandler,” as opposed to beggar.  As a result, panhandlers were swept up and placed under the general umbrella of the “homeless.”  Although, the goal of the advocates was to help panhandlers by opening the services available, this act made the umbrella too small to cover all of the individuals trying to fit under the shield, and in the end has hurt many homeless individuals. Homeless means just that—without a home (the very nature of being homeless is defined in the word itself). In my experience, most panhandlers have shelter of some sort. These individuals are not homeless, and thus should not be shoved under the one-size fits all umbrella of homeless.

Panhandling is entirely separate concern from the issue of homelessness.

Recently, the panhandler concern has once again become a sexy topic among politicos, including here in Ann Arbor.  In January, City Council convened a “special” task force, headed by First Ward Council member Sabra Briere, to look into curbing the panhandling “epidemic” in Ann Arbor. Many cities are jumping on this bandwagon—politicos are obsessively preoccupied with curbing begging. Many US cities crafting or resurrecting old ordinances to stop aggressive panhandling, and ordinances to stop people from sitting and sleeping on city sidewalks.

Of course, politicos have been trying to eradicate panhandling for the past 500 years.

In 1495 the English Parliament, overseen by Henry VII enacted The Vagabonds and Beggars Act. The Act stated that: “Vagabonds, idle and suspected persons shall be set in the stocks for three days and three nights and have none other sustenance but bread and water and then shall be put out of town.”

Then about 70 years later John Awdeley’s The Fraternity of Vagabonds (first printed in 1561), talked about beggers in England (this book was followed up by a work by another author that catagorized the different indivuals with different names. This was around the time when the English Crown was getting a little concerned about all of the unemployed people around the country who were turning to—you guessed it—begging!

Of course within a few years England passed the Poor Laws, as well as the Banishment to Ideleness Laws.

Sound familiar?

Obviously, if history has shown us one thing it’s that a solution to panhandling requires more than a “special task force” or enacting and enforcing ordinances to stop individuals from asking for money or sitting on sidewalks. The solution is also more complicated just getting these individuals jobs. Many politicos, Michigan’s Governor included, believe “job creation” is the solution to issues poverty-related. However, panhandlers with severe mental disease, addiction problems, no identification, past dealings with the criminal justice system, etc…have difficultly obtaining and keeping jobs.

Handing out cash money to panhandlers is not a solution, either. Sorry, but it’s true. It may make you virtuous as you drive or walk away, but it’s just as futile as passing Poor Laws.

So what’s the solution?

Resources and services are required to assist individuals in crisis, and yes these individuals who panhandle are in crisis, whether it is a mental health issue, an addiction, lack of food, etc…. But there are those who believe that funding and creating new services burden the human service system already in place. This is true, and has been true for the last 500 years. Our community has many services and organizations already in place to assist individuals in crisis. Support these organizations—any of them would gladly welcome the donation of the dollars you would give to panhandlers.

One such organization is the Washtenaw Housing Alliance. WHA is one of the nation’s premier housing organizations that partners with over 27 different organizations in our community to aid homeless individuals and those individuals on the brink of being homeless. These organizations work tirelessly to help individuals in crisis, including panhandlers.

Obviously, panhandling in Ann Arbor is a larger issue than a “special task force,” or even whether it’s legal for an individual to beg on the side of the highway.

So stop giving to individuals and start supporting the community’s social service organizations. Then, our politicians can step off the bandwagon and actually begin to address the deeper issues that drive members of our community onto the streets looking for handouts.

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Erika McNamara was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in nearby Whitmore Lake. She attended and graduated from Whitmore Lake High School. Erika earned her BA in International Studies of East Asia from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, as well as a certificate of course completion from Tian Jin Foreign Studies University, in Tian Jin, China. After graduation Erika worked for an American/Chinese Joint Venture business in Chongqing, China. Upon return to the United States she attended Eastern Michigan University and earned a Masters of Business Administration. Erika continued her education at The Thomas M. Cooley and earned a Juris Doctor degree. She now practices law in Whitmore Lake. Erika is a member of the Michigan Itinerant Shelter System Out of Necessity (MISSION), and advocates for the rights of homeless individuals.